The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction is calling on the Ontario government to move forward on an income security review by September 1.

Swift action would show the government is serious about implementing the recommendations of its own Social Assistance Review Advisory Council, meeting the commitments it made to poverty reduction in December 2008 – and, especially, improving the lives of low-income Ontarians across the province.

“The government now has the advice it sought from experts in the field – it is time for the Premier and Cabinet to act, without delay,” said 25 in 5 Network co-chair Greg de Groot-Maggetti. “We urge government to appoint two income security commissioners and an advisory council, and lay out a broad public consultation schedule, by September 1.”

“We especially welcome the Council’s recommendation to immediately increase the incomes of adults without children who are on Ontario Works,” said Mike Creek, co-chair of 25 in 5. “They bear the largest burden of poverty and make up a significant number of the people on assistance. No one anywhere in Ontario can live on the current single adult benefit of $580 per month.”

“And we would extend the recommendation to the incomes of everyone on Ontario Works and ODSP. There are many ways to do this, such as the $100 Healthy Food Supplement, a Housing Benefit for all low-income tenants, or increased tax credits.”

25 in 5 highlights some important recommendations in the Council’s report, including:

• Immediately implementing short-term rule changes in Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program, as recommended by the Council in February;
• Separate and substantive discussions with First Nations to ensure long-term reforms reflect their needs and priorities;
• Developing an expanded range of income supports and services to be available to all low-income Ontarians, building on the approach of the Ontario Child Benefit;
• Re-engineering long-term coverage in Ontario Works as an ‘opportunity planning’ program to support achieving full labour market potential through skills building, education, training, employment and related support;
• Ensuring the labour market offers effective pathways out of poverty by strengthening initiatives such as minimum wage increases, enhanced employment standards, fair employment initiatives and the federal Working Income Tax Benefit;
• Developing standards for a livable income and a process to use those standards to ensure the adequacy of Ontarians’ incomes.

Dear Minister Matthews,

The decision the McGuinty government has taken to end the Special Diet Allowance for people on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program has been interpreted as a disturbing signal about the degree to which government is committed to the goals of poverty reduction and the importance of protecting the human rights of people with disabilities.

However, it also presents you with the opportunity to create a new program that will address the acknowledged shortcomings of the Special Diet Allowance program, while ensuring continuation of the important financial support it provides to people with documented health challenges.

In light of the government’s announcement that the Ministry of Health will be creating a replacement program for the Special Diet Allowance, we are writing to forward our proposal for Five Principles that should form the basis for this new program.

The 25 in 5 Network and its partners, the ODSP Action Coalition and the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO), are circulating the enclosed Five Principles document to other partner organizations, individuals, and supporters. We trust that you will hear from many around the province who also believe that the new program must be based on these principles.

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The Ontario government is replacing the Special Diet Allowance Program with a new nutritional supplement program.

As it designs this new program, the government must ensure that it is not viewed in isolation from other aspects of the social assistance system and the problems that people who rely on it experience on a regular basis.

There is widespread recognition that the levels of financial support provided through Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program are insufficient to meet even the most basic needs of the people
who rely on these programs. This means that people on OW and ODSP cannot adequately afford healthy food, appropriate shelter, clothing, transportation, hygiene supplies, and other basic items.

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25 in 5 wrote to the Premier about the cancellation of the Special Diet Allowance, which will have an impact on several thousand OW and ODSP recipients, and the 1% increase to social assistance rates, which falls short of the inflation rate.
We’ve received the following response from the Premier:

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As organizations committed to the mission to reduce poverty, we write to express our serious concern about recent moves your government has taken on the poverty front.

More than a year into Ontario’s efforts to reduce poverty by 25% by 2013, your government has made the following moves that call into question your government’s commitment to meeting its own poverty reduction goals:

1) Ending the Special Diet Allowance Program without a previous and clearly thought through replacement plan, which will result in a significant drop in income for people on social assistance who have health-related nutritional needs;
2) Allowing, for the first time since 2006, social assistance rate increases to fall below the rate of inflation.

These actions are distressing, and – without adequate and commensurate resolution – threaten the health and safety of many struggling individuals in this province.

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